Oct 16, 2005

Life – a very simple word yet, it is really hard to define. We cannot expect meanings to be handed to us on a plate, and even if they were, what use would they be to us? God may have His purposes in creating me, but why should I adopt them? First, I must be convinced that they are good purposes, and if they are, why should I not adopt them anyway, without bothering whether they are God’s? Gabriel Marcel, a French philosopher, in his 1935 essay entitled “Being and Having”, draws a distinction between one’s being and one’s life. ‘I am’ is existentially prior to ‘I live’ which means that being is a necessary condition for living but not vice-versa. Marcel takes this as a ground for believing that my life was ‘given to me’, a fact which is sufficiently impressive to suggest the existence of God. In his writings on the meaning of life, Ronald William Hepburn urges a practical realism, which avoids both exaggerated optimism and groundless despair. In his article “wonder”, Hepburn argues that the arts do not instruct us about objective reality but are ways of ‘mediating truth’. They may vividly present perspective on the world and the human ‘life-world’, that is, as we live day by day; we slowly discover the truth behind our existence. Soren Aabye Kierkegaard, on the other hand, believed on his jargon “Existentialism” which means the irreducibility of subjective, personal dimension of human life. Therefore, human existence relies upon a phenomenological approach that emphasizes the analysis of critical borderline situations in man’s life especially of such intensely subjective phenomena as anxiety, suffering, and feelings of guilt in order to show the need for making decisive choices through utilization of man’s freedom in an uncertain and apparently purposeless world. This means that my life has more to experience, which could help me make the right choices and answer my questions about life. My existence is my life. Without life, nothing would exist. I was born here in this imperfect world innocent and unaware of everything around me. I can’t even remember what happened that day. My parents just told me that I was named ‘Chrisma” for it was Christmas season. I’m really thankful to my parents for giving me the chance to live and experience life. As we all know, it is a fact that we really value the existence of human life. For me, I firmly believe that life is essential for myself and for others: myself because it is everything to me, others because I’m one of the population that can help and serve especially to my family. Reality – the state of being actual. Michael Bakunin emphasized in his essay “Science and Life” that there are three fundamental principles that constitutes the essential conditions for all human development. They are human animality, thought, and rebellion. The first corresponds with my individual and socialized relationships; the second, with my awareness of science; and the third, with my liberty. I became connected with the real world through these principles. Reality has hit me and suddenly, I realized my existence. Taking in my existence, I also recognized my responsibilities. First, as a student, I need to accomplish each subject requirements and do my best in my studies. This is because I accept as true that my education would lead me to my success in the future. But honestly, I don’t really understand why I chose to take up Computer Science. My sister says I can easily find a job with this course. What I really like is Fine Arts but I guess I’ll come to that later. My next obligation is to build a wonderful relationship with my family. I want to be the daughter and the sister my parents, sisters, and brother wanted me to be. I may be halfway to their expectations. Being a true friend to my companions is also one of my duties. I must be trustworthy and loyal to my friends. In this way, they will also become true friends to me. From these responsibilities, I encountered success and failures. Sydney Shoemaker implied that if I face experience, I should identify the presented experience as oneself. There was this one time when I won an academic contest and I was very happy. It was a success to me because all my efforts to win that contest were paid off. But you can never escape from challenges in life. As of now, my greatest shortcoming would be the reality that I did not pass the scholarship I want for college. I was disappointed with myself but then I realized that God has better plans fro me. At least I passed UP and maybe God wanted me there to discover some things on my own. To summarize my point, it is my experiences and choices that will really show who truly I am. My existence is not yet done. I have to continue this journey called life. I have my own plans and goals in life, which I believe, would satisfy me. I want to become successful in everything, that is, from studies and work to my family. I want to become professional to my chosen fields: arts and computers. I want my family to be contented and happy. If all these happen, I would be contented too but maybe there are more things that would complete me, which I must find out. God has given me my life for a purpose. I may not know that purpose right now but definitely, I’ll come across with it someday. The question of who really am I will soon be unveiled. Some of the answers may have turn up already but these are incomplete. Therefore, I must complete it.

Sep 28, 2005

My high school life before and my college life now may be different and similar in many ways. When I was in high school, I used to have only very few classmates and schoolmates that I even memorized all their names. My school before was just small but it was a Science and Technology school. My schedule was so full for I was taking about nine subjects a day. However, these subjects rarely demands a lot of work. I have to be in school around 7:oo am because our flag ceremony starts at 7:10 am. Our lessons were very tough and the teachers gave very challenging exams. The teachers assigned a lot of reports to each student. Some teachers just sat and watched you report the lessons like you're the teacher. If all reports were done, they will just give exams without them discussing further and it's like they don't even know the lessons. After classes, we have to clean our classroom before we can go home. I used to stay very late at night accomplishing my homework and projects, preparing for my reports, and studying for my exams. Sometimes, I was also busy preparing for my participation in school activities and contests. But even though there were so much to be done, my high school friends made my high school life exciting and fun. Now that I'm in college, the environment has change. I already have many classmates and schoolmates that I can't even recognized them all. My school now is a university and not just an ordinary college school. My schedule now is not that full for I'm taking only four subjects a day. But these subjects demands a lot of work to be able to pass them. I have to be in school around 7:30 am and I don't have to attend a flag ceremony. Our lessons are tougher and the teachers give more challenging exams. The teachers assign only few reports and it's not even individual. All the professors have mastery on their subject matter, they discuss the lessons clearly, and they don't give exams which they did not discussed. After classes, I immediately go straight home or I pass by the library to check out some books and I don't have to clean any classrooms. Sometimes, I also stay late at night only because of my assignments and lessons to be studied. I'm not always busy because I don't have to join any contests or organizations. But even though I have the time I need, I still need to work for my harder subjects. My old friends are still there to brighten up my college life together with my new friends in college. High school may demand a lot of my time but college demands a lot of my work.

Sep 24, 2005

A saleslady in Guess at SM City Cebu appears to have the same looks as Regine Velasquez. She stands about the height of a world famous model because of the cigarette stick-like heels in her sexy boots. Her shiny black hair is neatly pony tailed that sways over her shoulders and adds to her attractiveness. Her round face is covered with white powder and her cheeks with pink blush-on as if she has a very important date to attend. She has watchful eyes that brightens whenever she entertains a customer. She has a perfect-shaped nose like Julia Roberts’. Her red lips forms sweet words of gratitude whenever a customer leaves after purchasing an item. Like the other Guess salesladies, she wears a black baby shirt with a phrase “I Love GUESS” largely printed across the shirt as if it is an advertisement banner for the store. Her dark blue jeans fits her long and slender legs perfectly. Whenever there is no customer, she either stays in a corner like a post, thinking of something else or in short, daydreaming or she patrols around like a security guard, checking the sell items and arrange them properly. She may or may not enjoy her work but like other workers, it is written in her face that she is excited to be home soon…

Colon is the oldest street in the Philippines. It was built by the Spaniards during the time of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and named after Christopher Colombus. It is the heart of downtown Cebu connecting the streets of Panganiban and Mabini. There are many vehicles, especially smoke-belcher jeepneys, pass by this street. The street is lined with huge department stores such as the four-storey Metro Gaisano and Gaisano Main, the three-storey Plaza Fair, the about 10 feet tall buildings of Colonnade and Rosita’s. Hotels such as the tourist inn Cebu Hallmark and the unclassified Cebu Century Hotel are also found there. There are also many outside vendors. Their stalls or stores are located just near or beside the huge establishments mentioned. A male vendor near Collonade sells different kitchen utensils. Next to him is another vendor that sells lovely posters and shouts “Buy one take one…” and about five feet away is an old man that sells healthy pets. About ten feet away from the old man is a female vendor of about 40 years old sells beautifully designed bags, accessories which included fancy jewelries like beaded necklaces and bracelets. Next to the female vendor is a man of about 30 years old sells pirated CD’s and VCD’s and he shouts “Palit na kay barato ra…”and some people try to see the CD’s and VCD’s and ask questions like “Tagpila ni?”. Since the prices are cheap, more and more people buy from these stalls. From the passing smoke-belcher vehicles to the determined shouting vendors, no doubt that Colon street is always noisy.

Sep 18, 2005

Existence is the state of being real, actual, or current, rather than imagined, invented, or obsolete. It means that everything that is real, actual, or current exists. Life is a very good example of existence for it is the thing that exists in us that keeps us alive. It is not imagined nor invented because it is present in us. In other words, life is the period of our existence. There would be no continued living if there is no life. Thus, existence of life is indeed very vital for our survival.As a human being, I am a good example of existence for humans have life. My life have already existed for almost 17 years. When I was still very young and innocent, I was never aware of my existence here in the world. All I think before was play and play but now that I have grown up, I have experienced expected and unexpected events that made me realized that there is more of life. I have learned a lot from my experiences especially from my mistakes. Of course, experiences are accompanied with different emotions like happiness, excitement, pity, sadness, loneliness, pain, etc. I admit that I have cried not because I was hit or something but because of my problems and failures. Then I have realized that truly, I have grown up. My family and friends are the ones who supports me all the way. They became my inspiration to do my best especially in my studies so that I'll succeed someday. I have faced challenges which made me much stronger. I was starting to face reality.The existence of our life is the greatest gift from God. Therefore, we must enjoy it. Life has its ups and downs. We never know when, why, or how but it has its purpose. Sometimes, we face hardships but these are challenges and we must learn to overcome them. We must not forget our family and friends for they complete our lives. Life has something more to offer to me because 17 years of existence is not enough. I'll be facing more challenges that are tougher than before. I want to explore and discover more of life. And lastly, I want to find the answer to my greatest question: "What is the role of my existence here on earth?"

Sep 11, 2005

A saleslady in Guess at SM City Cebu appears have the same looks as Regine Velasquez. She stands about the height of a world famous model because of the cigarette stick-like heels in her sexy boots. Her shiny black hair is neatly ponytailed that sways over her shoulders that adds to her attractiveness. Her round face is covered with white powder and her cheeks with pink blush-on as if she has a very imporatant date to attend. She has watchful eyes that brightens whenever she entertains a customer. She has a perfect-shaped nose like Julia Roberts’. Her red lips forms sweet words of gratitude whenever a customer leaves after purchasing an item. She wears a black babyshirt like the other Guess salesladies with a phrase “I Love GUESS” largely printed across the shirt as if it were an advertisement banner for the store. Her dark blue jeans fits her long and slender legs perfectly. Whenever there is no customer, she either stays in a corner like a post, thinking of something else or in short, daydreaming or she patrols around like a security guard, checking the selling items and arrange them properly. She may or may not enjoy her work but like other workers, it is writtetn in her face that she is excited to be home soon…

Colon is the oldest street in the Philippines. It was built by the Spaniards during the time of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and named after Christopher Colombus. It is the heart of downtown Cebu connecting the streets of Panganiban and Mabini. There are many vehicles, especially smoke-belcher jeepneys, pass by this street. The street is lined with huge department stores such as the four-storey Metro Gaisano and Gaisano Main, the three-storey Plaza Fair, the about 10 feet tall buildings of Colonnade and Rosita’s. Hotels such as the tourist inn Cebu Hallmark and the unclassified Cebu Century Hotel are also found there. There are also many outside vendors. Their stalls or stores are located just near or beside the huge establishments mentioned. The vendor near Collonade sells different kitchen utensils. Next to him is another vendor that sells lovely posters that shouts “Buy one take one…”. About five feet away, a vendor sells healthy pets and about ten feet away from him is a female vendor of about 40 years old sells beautifully designed bags, accessories which included fancy jewelries like beaded necklaces and bracelets and next to her is a man of about 30 is selling pirated CD’s and VCD’s and he shouts “Palit na kay barato ra…”and some people try to see the CD’s and VCD’s and ask questions like “Tagpila ni?”. Since the prices are cheap, more and more people buy from these stalls. From the passing smoke-belcher vehicles to the determined shouting vendors, no doubt that Colon street is always noisy.